The one I think is a priority is a backup center. Chicago and Utah are in rebuild mode I'd love to get Kelly Olynk or Caruso and Drummond.
He started and completed a rebuild in just 3 yrs. Apart from OKC I don't recall any other team being able to do that this quickly. The fact that you say Stone has the 2,3 and 4 picks but then blame him for hiring Silas shows you don't really understand how these things work that's why you think Stone hasn't done anything.
The rebuild isn’t complete - or it better not be. The Rockets don’t have a franchise player - and two of their 4-5 best players are not going to be here long term (FVV/Brooks). There are a lot of question marks about the Rockets long term and how high their actual ceiling is. So let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The Rockets have a great coach, a handful of good players and hope that a franchise player emerges. The “rebuild” ended because of the Thunder getting the Rockets lottery pick this year. I am not saying it’s all doom and gloom - but this team isn’t complete.
What irks me is that you are still left with a lot of questions after this season other than Udoker worked out. And Rafa still smiling like Silas or a kid in a candy store.
There's always gonna be question marks no matter what happens. You keep saying Rockets don't have a franchise player but that's Sengun already. 21 yr old All Star level talent bruh I don't know what else you want. If you meant a generational player then majority of the other franchises have never built anything. The rebuild is complete because everything is already set in motion, just need to wait for the kids to grow up. We already got out from the mess the ROx were in, having James Harden wanting to opt out, the oldest roster in the league and all our draft picks going somewhere else. This Rox team is already at the level they were when they bottomed out. That means they already finished rebuilding since they are back where they were 3 yrs ago but younger and better.
I know people want to make Sengün the franchise player but I am thinking it will take him years of years....... And it is not even a given that he is becoming a new Jokic.....only that he is likely to be an All Star for years. And there are at least 30+ All Star caliber players in this league.
Did Harden win a medal? Other than smugness and consolation prizes. You act like Harden collected rings every year he was here. Rebuilding as the name implies just getting back at the level you were before. It's like chemotherapy, once it's done you just got rid of the cancer doesn't mean you become 20 yrs old and in your prime again. When Harden said he wanted to leave Stone had the choice of Ben Simmons and treading water or completely tear down everything. They chose to tear down everything and now they're back or even surpassed the level they were before they decided to tear it down. The difference is before they have the oldest roster in the league now they have a bunch of 21 yr olds. That's an unqualified success and proved they were correct to rebuild 3 yrs ago. You want the Rox to win a ring first but Harden era didn't even do that and the team we would have had if we didn't rebuild literally had 0 chance of winning a ring ever. If the Rox end up winning a ring that didn't mean they "rebuilt", that meant they already surpassed the previous era. OKC for example is doing that they surpassed the PG-WB era already it's not a rebuild anymore since WB and PG never got 3rd seed in the West and at such a young age.
The best thing Stone could do for himself is shut up and ride Ime’s coat tails. None of the success this season is because of him. It’s all despite of him in reality. Him speaking out that he’s “comfortable” with our roster just speaks to how I still believe he needs someone over him to speak truth. This team has no all star much less a super star. Alpi looks like a hit but still question marks about him being a player you can build around. Jabari looks like a fantastic max contract Swiss Army knife role player but not a superstar. Jalen looks like he needs a change of scenery and a different style of play/system to be successful. Misses with every center he’s signed so far in Theis, and now Landale. The Tate obsession…the first round bombs in Josh Christopher, TyTy, Garuba…. then there is the KPJ cluster fck. Stones record here is mixed at best. I don’t think anyone should be comfortable with this roster and team culture but more than anyone nobody should be feeling less comfortable than Rafael Stone yet he just can’t help himself to go out and flex at the most first moment of a hint of success.
He just need to say coaches aren't important, sengun is the cornerstone the rest role players, and we're signing a superstar this offseason. That's how you nail interviews around here.
I don't know. I don't think we should be stringent with defining a title team. We need a core that will guarantee is top 10 defense and offense. What if we have 3 All stars? Maybe none of them falls under that Superstar tag perfectly before winning a title but it's a failure to not win a title of you have 3 All stars. We're earlier in the process than people would like but yes we still need two more draft picks to become worth the max or near it. Sengun is in the bag, he's anchoring a top ten defense already.
I caught this last week on 97.5. Lance apparently had several conversations with Stone last season about culture. After the 6 minute mark or so you can get more of a glimpse into his approach and mindset when it came to rebuilding. The hosts aren't sure if he has learned any lessons. Interesting discussion.
Amen and Jabari. Done deal. I haven’t given up on Jalen completely either. Just think he should hone his skills coming off the bench if we can find a legit starter at a reasonable cost. (Brogdon is my favorite candidate).
What a load of nonsense. Yeah, it’s really “despite” Stone that his free agent acquisitions of FVV, Brooks, Holiday, and Uncle Jeff have been stellar. Totally “despite” Stone that the coach he hired has been great. Also “despite” Stone that several of the young players he drafted (including Sengun and Tari with picks in the teens) are progressing nicely and blossoming under Udoka. Why don’t you just say you have an agenda against Stone and won’t be swayed by the overwhelmingly positive results this season rather than trying to pretend like you’re judging things objectively?
This interview gets out at the opportune time when the team is starting to show mental fatigue and is dropping in intensity and effort. Known as the Christmas Drought.
Unappreciative of the fact we're COMPETITIVE in only year 3. We have a fantastic young coach & a great young core. The fact you bring up having a franchise player before they've even fully developed says more about how ridiculous fans are. Jalen, Jabari, Sengun & Amen aren't even 25 years old lol. How long did it take OKC & Philly to start winning after rebuilding? The cap opened itself up or did Stone do that? This baffles me. How do you criticize hiring Silas but not mention we were full out tanking. He was SUPPOSED to be bad. The objective was to lose. Silas got us lottery picks & the most cap space in the nba. The Spurs just lost 18 games in a row, is Pop a horrible coach? We're not the first team to tank ya know. Bottom line, you don't like Stone for reasons other than basketball. Just say it
Yeah I think there are lots of possibilities and still could end up 4 all stars total or at least the assets to acquire them.
I think there are some All Star reserves one the team but I see nobody who is the Star among All Stars, what I meant. There is also Tiers of All Stars for me...... FVV is among the smallest of All Stars, 1 Time All Star who got in because others were injured. Sabonis is not on the same tier as Giannis, Jokic, Embiid or Steph, Durant, LBJ, Shai.
